Procopius Anthemius (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Προκόπιος Άνθέμιος; fl. 469–515 AD) was a politician of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

, son of Western Roman Emperor

Anthemius Procopius Anthemius (; died 11 July 472) was the Western Roman Empire, Western Roman emperor from 467 to 472. Born in the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, Anthemius quickly worked his way up the ranks. He married into the Theodosian dyna ...

. After the death of the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I, Procopius sided with his brother Marcianus's attempt to overthrow

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

. When Marcianus's rebellion failed, Procopius fled to Thrace and then to Rome, returning to Constantinople after the death of Zeno and accession of Anastasius I. After his return to Constantinople, he was consul in 515.

Biography

Procopius was the son of

and of

Marcia Euphemia Marcia Euphemia, also known as Aelia Marcia Euphemia (Greek language, Greek: Μαρκία Εύφημία), was the wife of Anthemius, Western Roman Empire, Western Roman Emperor. Family Marcia Euphemia was the only known daughter of Marcian, East ...

, daughter of the Eastern Roman Emperor. His brothers were Anthemiolus, Marcianus and

Romulus Romulus (, ) was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of th ...

; he also had a sister, Alypia. He lived at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, at Eastern Emperor Leo I's court, while his father later ruled the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

(467-472), unsuccessfully trying to restore Roman power in the Western provinces beyond Italy and Gaul. During this time, his brother Anthemiolus died while leading an attack against the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

(in 471) and his sister Alypia married

Ricimer Ricimer ( , ; – 19 August 472) was a Romanized Germanic general, who ruled the remaining territory of the Western Roman Empire from 456 after defeating Avitus, until his death in 472, with a brief interlude in which he contested power wit ...

, the powerful ''magister militum'' of barbarian origin. In 474, Leo died. He had left no sons and two daughters, the elder

Ariadne In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of N ...

, born before Leo was raised to the throne and married to the Isaurian general

, and the younger

Leontia Leontia (, fl. 610) was an empress of the Eastern Roman Empire as the wife of Phocas. Empress Maurice reigned in the Byzantine Empire from 582 to 602. When he decreed that the Byzantine army was to spend the winter of 602/603 on the northern ...

, born when Leo was already emperor and married to Procopius' brother, Marcian. The people of Constantinople despised the Isaurians, whom they considered barbarians; furthermore, Leontia's status as "

porphyrogenita Traditionally, born in the purple (sometimes "born to the purple") was a category of members of royal families born during the reign of their parent. This notion was later loosely expanded to include all children born of prominent or high-ranking ...

" gave her some sort of precedence to the throne, according to the faction that opposed Zeno. For this reason Marcian tried to overthrow Zeno. With the help of Procopius and Romulus, he gathered in

troops composed of both citizens and foreigners in the house of a Caesarius, south of the

Forum of Theodosius The Forum of Theodosius (, today Beyazıt Square) was probably the largest square in Constantinople and stood on the Mese, the major road that ran west from Hagia Sophia ( Turkish: Ayasofya). It was originally built by Constantine I and named t ...

, and from there they marched at the same time on the imperial palace and on the house of

Illus Flavius Illus (; died 488) was a Roman general who played an important role in the reigns of the Eastern Emperors Zeno (emperor), Zeno and Basiliscus. Illus supported the revolt of Basiliscus against Zeno and switched sides to support the return ...

, an Isaurian general who supported Zeno. The emperor almost fell into the hands of the rebels, who, during the day, overwhelmed the imperial troops, who were also attacked by citizens from the roofs of their houses. During the night, however, Illus succeeded in moving an Isaurian unit quartered in nearby Chalcedonia into Constantinople and in corrupting Marcian's soldiers, who allowed Zeno to flee. On the following morning Marcian, understanding that his situation was desperate and that reinforcements under the Gothic general

Theodoric Strabo Theodoric (or Theoderic) Strabo (; died 481) was a Gothic chieftain who was involved in the politics of the Eastern Roman Empire during the reigns of Emperors Leo I, Zeno and Basiliscus. He was a rival for the leadership of the Ostrogoths with h ...

would not arrive in time, took refuge in the

church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles (, ''Agioi Apostoloi''; ), also known as the Imperial Polyandrion (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The first structure dated to ...

, but was then arrested with his brothers. They were sent to

Caesarea in Cappadocia Kayseri () is a large city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since ancient times. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is co ...

. With the help of some monks, they tried to escape, but Marcian failed, while Procopius fled to Theodoric Strabo in Thrace,Theodorus Lector, ''Epitome'' 420. – where the latter refused to hand him to Zeno – and then to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Later Procopius returned to Constantinople, during the reign of Anastasius I (491-518). Empress

asked Anastasius, whom she had married after Zeno's death, to appoint Procopius

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect (; ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief ai ...

. Anastasius refused, saying that the office required more learning than Procopius had. Nonetheless, Procopius was appointed consul for 515. Procopius might be the Anthemius who was married to Herais and father of a Zeno betrothed to a nephew of Emperor Zeno; this Anthemius was probably a '' patricius''.Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Anthemius 5", ''

Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' (abbreviated as ''PLRE'') is a work of Roman prosopography published in a set of three volumes collectively describing many of the people attested to have lived in the Roman Empire from AD 260, the date ...

'', Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1980, , p. 98.

Notes

Bibliography

* Jones, Arnold Hugh Martin, John Robert Martindale, John Morris, "Procopius Anthemius 9", ''

'', Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, 1980, , p. 99. * Mathisen, Ralph W.
"Anthemius (12 April 467 - 11 July 472 A.D.)"
''De Imperatoribus Romanis'' {{end 6th-century deaths 5th-century Byzantine people 6th-century eastern Roman consuls Ancient rebels Byzantine rebels House of Leo Theodosian dynasty Sons of Roman emperors